Get Insight on Health and Dental Insurance for Independent Contractors

Many independent contractors often are astounded that they can take health-care spending, an often burdensome cost that may take money away from their businesses, and turn it into a vehicle for greater savings and financial freedom.

There are a lot of tax and other pluses to being an independent contractor, but creating a safety net of benefits for you and your family may seem like one big disadvantage compared with the security offered by large employers.

Thankfully, there is effective health and dental insurance for independent contractors: a Health Spending Account.

A Health Spending Account (HSA) is a benefit that provides reimbursement for a wide range of medical and dental expenses, over and above regular benefit plans. Best of all, pre-tax dollars are exclusively used for these reimbursements.

There are several key advantages associated with an HSA that makes it the most effective solution available today for independent contractors.

Tax Effective

Independent contractors can now be tax-efficient with how they pay for healthcare expenses. A Health Spending Account creates an environment for consultants to pay for healthcare expenses directly using pre-tax dollars. If you compare the difference between your company adding money to your T4 income in order to pay for healthcare expenses vs. your business being able to pay directly for them, the savings are significant.

Empowerment

An independent contractor may completely decide how their benefits dollars will be spent on themselves and their family members, without restriction, other than the fact that eligible expenses must be recognized as health-related and adminstered by a professional.

Wider Range of Eligible Expenses

HSAs provide contractors with the opportunity to claim a much greater range of health-related expenses of health-related expenses as compared to traditional health insurance. Eligible expenses include dental, orthodontics, prescription drugs, paramedical services, vision care, physiotherapy, chiropractic services and much more!

No Medical Underwriting

Unlike many group plans, a pre-existing medical condition does not preclude a contractor or their family members from being covered. There are no medical questionnaires to complete.

Affordability

A Health Spending Account typically has no premiums: cost control is in your hands as opposed to an insurance company. There are no deductibles, co-payments or additional fees to join.

Ease of Use

The HSA claim process is online and instant and there are no complicated claim exclusions or conditions.

Health Spending Accounts have been widely adopted by Canada’s contractor community as a viable alternative to traditional insurance. Discover how the Olympia Health Spending Account can help your consulting business by downloading our free guide: The Beginner's Guide to Health Spending Accounts to learn more.